This is the first part of a series on revitalization. You may want to keep this article for reference in the coming weeks.

On a recent visit to Weldon, North Carolina, I was impressed.

It was a bright, sunny, spring day as my wife and I embarked upon a weekend getaway to visit Historic Weldon. We were excited about our "spur of the moment" getaway for the weekend since we had heard such nice things about this little place. We are very interested in history and we knew that Weldon has been successful in developing theirs and relating how they fit into world scene.

Arriving about mid-day on a Friday, we were greeted by a very handsome "Historic Weldon" sign, as we passed under a restored historic railroad trestle.

The streets were tree lined providing a canopy bursting forth with spring color and the sunshine streaking through. The historic lamp posts were adorned with either banners of welcome or pretty hanging baskets with flowers spilling over their sides with abundant blooms.

A lovely park is adjacent to the tourist information center. We stopped to gather some information about the town and to get some insider tips on the best place to get some lunch and a room for the night in a bed and breakfast.

We were pleased to learn that there were several excellent cafes, restaurants, tea rooms and coffee houses to choose from for lunch. The greeter at the information center was also very helpful in assisting us in making a reservation at one of the bed and breakfast inns located throughout the National Registered Historic District. It was the last room too, in the whole town!

So with our reservations for the night secured and directions for lunch in hand, we were ready to take on the town.

We first strolled through the lovely little park and rested a moment on a park bench that overlooks the elevated rail road lines. And to our delight, an Amtrak came roaring by. We could even see people in the dinning car about to have their lunch. Then a few minutes later a freight train came rumbling toward us. We did wonder how the two trains running in opposite direction were able to use same track.

With our rest over, and our walking tour brochure in hand we set off. But before we could get very far, we saw the cutest crafts and gifts in a little shop. We entered, and thoroughly enjoyed the talk with the shop keeper. She also suggested other places in town we could do some shopping.

So down the decorative sidewalks we go and around the corner, where there were several fine antique shops. We figured it could take the better part of a day just to explore every nook and cranny. And we were up to the task!

In every shop we entered, we found the nicest people. And the shops were busy too! We chatted with several of the customers and learned they were either traveling through the area or had, like us, set out, just to visit Weldon.

We finally took a minute to have some lunch. And words can not explaining how excellent it was. It was great!

We spent the rest of the day shopping and then retired to our bed and breakfast for the evening. In addition to the beautiful inn we were staying at, we noticed that there were several up and down the very handsome main street. All were in grand old homes, with well kept yards and each filled with guest for the night.

We walked down the street in the cool spring air to dinner in one of the restaurants. The chef prepared an excellent dish of stripped bass for our main course. And the dessert. Magnificent!

Back at the bed and breakfast we enjoy a very restful night and nearly overslept for our breakfast. The innkeeper was very understanding and said something about it must be the sleeping powder that he puts on the pillows. Now with a good breakfast, we were ready for a day of sight seeing.

We first took the self guided walking tour. In addition to the brochure we had, there were placards at each point of interest that gave details of the architectural design of the building, some of the history of the builder and other tidbits of interesting information.

We then made our way to the Weldon History Museum. We learned all about the Roanoke River, The Roanoke Canal, and the railroad and their impact on the region and all of the eastern seaboard. The history is truly unique and significant. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the museum.

We were now ready for some lunch. The volunteer at the museum suggested that we could get a ready made picnic basket from the corner cafe and take it to River Falls Park. And we did just that!

We strolled down the river side trial and found a quiet lovely little spot overlooking the river falls to spread the picnic blanket, upon which we set out our lunch and had a picnic. With the sound of the waters tumbling over the falls and the warm sun shining on us there was only one thing left for us to do. So we laid back and promptly fell asleep for a little cat nap.

Afterwards, we enjoyed watching the fishermen coming and going at the boat ramp. Some even reported catching upwards to one hundred rockfish. We were interested in trying our hand at catching a few, and we were able to book a trip with a fishing guide for the next day.

We also learned about the canoe trips on the Roanoke River. There were half day trips on white water and full day trips on flat water that included a tour of Historic Halifax. We were most interested in the 3 day canoe and camping trips down the river and we booked one for mid summer.

With some time left in the afternoon, we made our way back to the shopping district and spent some more time and money on several collectable items we found that would compliment our collections.

After dinner, we went on an evening river cruise aboard the "River Rambler". There was a delightful gentleman playing his guitar and singing old folk songs intertwined with bits of history about the river and the area.

The next day, we were back at the river again for our fishing trip and we had a blast and caught so many fish, my arm got tired and sore from pulling them it.

When it was time to go, we went so reluctantly. But we took with us very fond memories of our trip to Historic Weldon.

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